Ryanair Flies as Rival European Airlines Flag

The inexorable grinding down of Europe’s small airline companies continues, and with a similar air of inevitability, it is Ireland’s Ryanair that looks one of the main beneficiaries along with its major budget rivals.

Scandinavia’s SAS warned Wednesday of tougher than expected trading conditions ahead, only weeks after a government-backed financial rescue and radical restructuring plan. That came a day after Poland’s government said it is stepping in to rescue LOT, the country’s struggling state-owned flag carrier it tried and failed to sell last year.

Meanwhile, Ryanair said it will open its 53rd European base and its second in Poland at Krakow in April next year, with flights to the U.K., Sweden, Germany and Greece. Krakow used to be a key destination for SkyEurope, the low-fare Eastern European carrier that went out of business in 2009.